Once again, Tom has produced a fine documenation of my guitars.  Take a look.

Go to the gallery for the full treatment.

Save a few ding repairs, polishing of the nut and saddle, and some minor string height work, the Koa Parlor is complete.  This guitar would have been completed sooner had I not agreed to an emergency secret gift commission for my brother in law (the 12 string Dreadnought).

I have completed 5 guitars, and two more are in the works.  I had no expectations on what the sound of this little guitar would bring, but in the end, it is very pleasing, and quite bold for such a little box.  It gives me hope for my own Parlor I am currently constucting.

Sanded down, buffed and made it glimmer.

While it cures, I assembled just to get a sense of how this little guy will look.

Applied the final (3) lacquer coat to the parlor on Tuesday.  It should cure for one week.  I will be able to get back on it early next week to attach neck, bridge and do setup.  The amber color is exposure, not stain.

Began the application of the lacquer today.  I should be able to get three coats on before Friday, then let it sit for a week to cure.

Much progress, and many photos to share.  I realized that you don’t know me very well.  In fact, your image of me as a person is completely fabricated.  So here are some pictures of my face.  I try to recreate my face in all my guitars, but haven’t been doing a very good job lately.

1.  My eyesight needs some improvement.

2.  Some say I look like my sister.

3.  I’m actually a serious craftsperson.

Updates on guitars in progress:  The 12 string is in the curing stage.  On Wednesday I will get it ready for a Friday photo shoot.

The Koa Parlor will get lacquer this week.

And the Zebrez has a neck.

I’m preparing the Koa Parlor to be ready for applying lacquer at the same time I do the 12 string.  Worked really late last night, and as the 12 string sat in the go bar clamp, I filled fret slots with black super glue and hand sanded the body til it looked like butter.

The Koa Parlor is moments away from being ready for lacquer.  First added threaded nuts to the tenon, insereted the truss rod and applied glue.

Clamped wood is in place to keep the tenon from splitting while inserting the threaded nuts.

Glue on the neck, trying to avoid the truss rod.  Small pins were set in the neck, through the fretboard at the 4th and 11th fret slots to hold the fretboard in alignment when clamping down with the rubber band.

The rubber band does a good job of holding the fretboard tight against the neck and centering on the preshaped neck.

After the band was removed, side dots added, then sanded down to bring neck and fretboard in alignment.

Accidently superglued the neck to my ear, but I got it off.

The Koa Parlor now needs my full attention.  I will work on it primarily and only diddle with 805 (12 string) when waiting (lacquer coats drying, etc.).

The neck is shaped to the point where I can glue on the fretboard before doing the final shaping/finishing.

This is what it looks like with the tuners and bridge in place (not glued or screwed).

I think I’ll get a little fancy with the inlay.

I’ll mask the fretboard then draw positioning lines on the masking tape, then glue the inlay to the tape.  After the glue dries, I’ll score around the inlay through the tape into the fretboard, then remove the masking tape and route out the cavities for the inlay using a Dremel tool mounted on a guide.